Monday, February 11, 2013

Georgian Gethsemane

A friend and I were searching the web for versions of Gethsemane (I Only Want to Say) from Jesus Christ Superstar that might surpass Ted Neeley's from 2006. A mission impossible, but I happened to come across an adolescent getting quite near – on a Georgian Idol show.

34 comments:

Thanks for this article.I'm one of Luka's fans from Georgia.He is really an extraordinary performer and a very talented musician. But i think he needs support from outside Georgia as the Georgian show business is in a bad situation.. If he has any real support he can make his own songs.I am proud that he is Georgian and I hope his talent will be properly respected some day!Nobody in Georgia is going to forget him :)

I'm glad that someone out of Georgia found Luka's performances and decided to write about him. Thanks for that.p.s. in that Georgian folk song, there's not a single word with any meaning, it's just sound expressions :)

Thank you for writing about him on your blog, the more people know about him, the better his chances of making it to an international audience! Also I really think this 1st season of Georgian Idol was really special in terms of quality, compared to the other Idol editions around the world. Let's hope that the new season this spring will keep the quality high. Good Luck to this talented musician!

It seems Gethsemane is a popular song in Georgia. And why not? It's a splendid aria.

This singer is certainly very competent, but I am not as impressed as I was with Luka. He doesn't have as much nerve, and he cares too much about singing well, instead of getting lost in what the song is about.

Really, Luka outshines him in just about every aspect, even those very difficult to pinpoint.

Of course Luka is special. and there is no doubt about it. I like him too much. He feels the soul of music and gives it to us. I was asking about singer, about vocal. I think that Niko is great vocalist too. he has very sweet and also very strong voice. you will agree that it is not easy to sing Gethemane. It is one of the hardest song ever. So very few people can do it. Especially as great as they are singing.

That was a very good article and Luka has my support and I am now a fan of his thanks to my girlfriend who is from Tbilisi, Georgia. Me? I"m American from New Jersey, USA. I'm a musician with a good ear for talent and music and based upon what I have seen Luka has what it takes and I enjoy not only his passion but his confidence as well. even though he has a mind for his own type of talent he can duplicate a song with the utmost accuracy. I believe if he could come to New York or California he would gain even more fame. anyway, I wish him more success as he is still young and he is a rising star for sure. I'm sure the world will be hearing more from him in the years to come.Barry in NJ...a Luka fan.

I think Luka needs two things for an international career: He needs his own material, original songs that he relates to, written by him or sibling souls of his - and he needs to want an international career, otherwise he will not put in the necessary effort. Maybe he's quite pleased with doing his music in Georgia. Nothing wrong with that.

Well, that's the original recording. Certainly impressive - but too much of a song and almost sweet, sort of like Paul Jones of the early Manfred Mann.

Way back then, I learned about JC Superstar from the original record, before the film was released. At first, I was rather ambiguous about the film version - but now, so many years later, I think Ted Neeley surpassed Gillan even on the film. Not to mention decades later, when he let his life experience speak out in the song.

One more version, by a very skilled singer, obviously with profound opera schooling. He has the intensity, also his song is fascinating the way he moves between perfectly clear tones and dissonances, to express the anguish the song is about.Gerónimo Rauch

Now, a great and warm rock singer, with a strong version of Gethsemane:Peter Cmorik

It's interesting to compare him to Luka, who has so much more nerve, agony, fragility and rebellion in his performance.

Luka really expresses what the song is about: Jesus initially protests against his fate, almost like a rebel, and then reluctantly accepts it, pointing out what a terrible sacrifice he makes - for questionable reasons. That process is evident in Luka's version, painfully much so. Peter Cmorik and many others may hint on the same, but bother too much about singing it well - not living it but doing the soundtrack.

The greatest artists may have splendid instruments, like a wondrous voice or dazzling skills with an instrument, but their main quality is that they have something to express and they do it, no matter how much it tears them up.

what do you think about this song,perfomed by luka zaqariadze? i know that its difficult for you to understand what about is this song :) i will tell you that this song is about georgia...i am very interested in your opinion :)

After replying to the comment above, I googled Luka to see what has happened since I wrote the blog post. Not much, it seems. I fear that may mean he's already missed his opportunity.

An Idol winner is news only until next Idol season begins. That short time needs to be spent energetically. As far as I understand (and I can't read a word of Georgian), he's not made a CD. That's odd.

Normally, a record deal is what the winner of an Idol show is guaranteed, and they are very quick (often too quick) releasing it, to cash in on the momentary fame. Without a record, an Idol winner will have a very hard time keeping his or her fans.

What I could find was a highschool prom concert where he did some rock covers with a band. Neither convincing in itself nor enough to get the musical career going.

Frankly, doing covers of past hit songs is nothing but karaoke, and it never leads to anything. Luka must perform his own music, writing it himself (that's the best) or cooperating with song writers of similar souls. Otherwise, sadly, he'll have to learn to accept that he's had his Warholian fifteeen minutes of fame.

About Me

I'm an author, artist, historian of ideas, and aikido instructor. I have also worked as a journalist for Swedish newspapers. I was a literature critic in Aftonbladet, a rock and theater critic in Dagens Nyheter, and the secret restaurant critic in Sydsvenskan. As an historian of ideas at Lund University, I write a dissertation on the thought patterns in creation myths.

My books are both fiction and non-fiction. Among the latter are books about Taoism, aikido, Tarot, mythology, and astrology. Some of them are only in Swedish, but I have written an increasing number of books in English.